This Labour weekend 2024 saw no deaths on the roads, establishing a new record for the period.
Police superintendent Steve Greally was pleased Kiwis returned safely home to their whānau and friends.
“We didn‘t lose anybody on our roads this time around, which is fantastic, compared to last year where six people lost their lives, so it’s a great result.
“It‘s an amazing thing when we have no deaths for a variety of reasons, the first and foremost, of course, is people are alive, they’ve still got their families in their lives and their friends.”
According to the Ministry of Transport website, there were five deaths during Labour weekend in 2022, six in 2021, and a staggering eight in 2020.
Greally also pointed out the low number meant less trauma for frontline workers and victims.
“The scenes that they‘re experiencing when they go to these fatal crashes are very traumatic, so it’s really important those things come down as well.
“One of the greatest benefits for our frontline, who do an amazing job, in terms of preventing death and injury, is not having to knock on someone’s door and tell them their loved ones not coming home.
“You can‘t overstate the impact that has on people. It’s very difficult and everyone reacts differently, so that will be a lot less frequent which is a huge bonus for us,” he said.
A surveillance report from Environmental Health Intelligence New Zealand showed Māori men between 2017-19 had the highest mortality rates for traffic injuries.
It also showed that every other ethnicity’s mortality decreased during the same period while Māori increased.
Greally said many things had to come together to get road safety right.
“What [police] have done in the last two years is changed our deployment model. We deploy our staff to the open and the rural road, and that’s where most of the trauma is happening in this country, so it makes sense for us to be there.”
According to Greally, the three main causes of ‘carnage’ on Aotearoa’s roads are drugs and alcohol, distractions like cell phones, and speeding.
“Speed is perhaps the most poignant that’ causes death and serious injury in New Zealand,” he said.
